Those Hip Hop Guys: Abrupt album reviews of Cyhi the Prynce, Jaden Smith and more

Before we get started, I should give a sincere apology to all the people I angered with my review of Eminem and Beyoncé's new song, “Walk on Water." I overstepped by saying that you have bad taste if you enjoy that song. That statement was a generalization that hurt some feelings. What I should said was that even though it’s going to break all kinds of streaming and chart records, it’s still trash.

On to the reviews.

Jaden Smith: 'SYRE'

After I stopped crying, I listened to this album again. Jaden has poured every bit of privileged-teenage angst into this album. It’s emotional. It’s also very scattered and (possibly) complex. Musically, it sounds like all the other down-tempo-hipster nonsense that is overpowering the airwaves. I really wanted to like this one, but then he started screaming.

T-Pain: 'Oblivion'

I like this album. I can admit it. The production is so layered and sharp. My head was nodding immediately upon pressing "play." I didn’t care much for his lyrics, especially about the opposite sex. I cringed a few times. Other than that, T-Pain has an album full of potential hits. They won’t be hits, though, because he curses too much. Also, what’s up with the Auto-Tune, bro? We all know you can sing. Stop it.

Talib Kweli: 'Radio Silence'

“Radio Silence” starts off as a solid “boom bap” album, then curves us all. Why in the world does Talib do a trap song with Waka Flocka? There’s inherently nothing wrong with that, except it’s Talib’s album. Waka should be rapping over Talib-style beats. He did the same with Rick Ross. That pretty much ruined the album for me.

Yung Swag: '32 Teeth'

I … I don’t know what to … oh, boy. If you played this album and threw “Gucci Gang” by Lil Pump in there, nobody would know the difference. Trap music is so oversaturated that it actually does all “sound the same." I completely forgot who I was listening to about three songs into “32 Teeth." There’s zero originality, the subject matter is exactly the same as everyone else, and the rapping itself is … disconcerting.

Cyhi the Prynce: "No Dope on Sundays"

After bouncing from label to label and dropping some ridiculous mixtapes, Cyhi finally releases his debut album, “No Dope on Sundays." Cyhi is known worldwide for his cadence and clever wordplay. I’m not a huge Cyhi fan, but I have great reverence for him finally giving his fans a project that they’ve been wanting. He’s in a small pool of emcees who can drop knowledge and “dope boy” raps at the same time. The features alone show where he stands in the world of hip-hop: Pusha T, 2Chains and Kanye West are just a few of the elite making this release a classic.